Work Text:
“Kara!”
It all happens so fast, and yet watching her get hit feels like it lasts an eternity. Lena can do nothing but watch as Kara falls to the floor in slow motion.
Fury burning through her body and branded on her heart. Lena turns her sights on Lex. “You’re going to die for that.” Lena promises with an unsettling calmness.
Lex laughs coldly, satisfaction bellowing from his throat. “You’ve killed me for less, sis. At least this time I took Supergirl with me.” He sneers.
Lena clenches her jaw in anger as she raises her arm before shooting a blaster from her suit’s hand. The blue laser hits Lex square in the chest, blowing him backwards into the wall as his head slams into the concrete of the warehouse. Lena watches her brother crumple to the ground, making sure he stays down before she turns her attention back to Kara.
Lena flies to the limp Kryptonian on the floor across the room. Kara’s body glows like a beacon that calls out to Lena and illuminates the dim warehouse in an emerald haze. Hastily, she shuts off her thrusters and lands crudely but quickly on her knees so she can hold Kara while she assesses the damage.
“Hope, body scan and diagnosis.” Lena commands her suit’s AI.
“Le -na” Kara breathes out barely audible, her eyes shut in pain.
“I’m here, Kara. I’m right here. I got you.” Lena says as she taps her helmet to free her face, so Kara can see her. So she knows she’s not going anywhere.
“It – it hurts. Please h - help.” Kara murmurs.
“Hope, results. Now!” Lena demands firmly.
“Kryptonite poisoning at level 89 and rising. Shrapnel detected throughout the body. The kryptonite has penetrated Supergirl’s bloodstream. Status: critical.” Hope answers matter-of-factly.
Lena knows what the diagnosis means but she refuses to accept it. Simulations run through her head a mile a minute desperately trying to find a solution, but each one results in her failure. She knows her suit isn’t equipped with the proper technology to sufficiently rid Kara’s body of the kryptonite shrapnel. And she knows Kara doesn’t have the time needed for Lena to get her to her lab or the tower.
Tears well in her eyes as she looks down at her best friend knowing they only have a few minutes. Lena can feel the anger coursing through her veins and anchoring in her bones. She is accustomed to the anger, familiar with its effect on her, often using it as her fuel. But it’s what lies beneath that anger now that terrifies her the most: helplessness.
There are only a handful of moments in Lena’s life where she has felt truly helpless. Oddly enough most of those times revolve around Kara and her feelings toward Kara. But this – this is a debilitating helplessness that rocks her to her core. It grips her with a sense of paralysis she has never known, because for the first time, there is nothing she can do to save Supergirl.
Lena Luthor with all her intellect and achievement is helpless. And she hates it.
“AHHHHHHH” Lena screams upward as she lets her frustration literally explode out of her.
She sags with defeat and pulls Kara closer in a futile attempt to comfort them both.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Kara.” She sobs, desperately clinging to the person she loves most in this world.
“It’s not your fault, Lena.” Kara says between groans. “It’s – it’s time.”
“No, no. It can’t be! What if we’re wrong? What if there’s a way? I – I can find a way!” Lena begs still in denial.
“If there was a way, you’d have found it already. I know you would.” Kara reassures gently. “But there’s not. Not this time.”
Lena shakes her head furiously in a flurry of tears and defiance.
“It’s okay. I’m ready.”
Kara places her hand on Lena’s cheek and wipes away her tears as she somehow manages to smile despite excruciating pain. Her face is soft but solemn and her eyes are filled with an acceptance Lena wishes she’d never have to witness.
“There’s only one thing left to do.” Kara whispers leaning her head into Lena’s chest. "Please, I'm so tired."
Lena blinks hard, willing herself to be strong, for Kara. She lets out a shaky breath and nods, locking eyes with Kara. As always, it’s in those compelling blue eyes where she finds her strength and comfort.
Lena takes Kara’s hand that rests on her cheek in hers, interlocking their fingers. She pauses to look at Kara one last time before guiding their hands to her chest. Together they push the center compartment of Lena’s suit and twist to the right until they hear the audible click. As the compartment partially ejects, Lena reluctantly lets go of Kara’s hand and gently rests it on her stomach.
Hope’s voice echoes from Lena’s suit. “Sunset Protocol Engaged. Voice recognition required.”
“Kara Zor-El Danvers.” Kara is the first to respond and Lena follows her lead.
“Lena Kieran Luthor.”
“Access authenticated. El Mayarah.” Hope says before the compartment door unlocks and opens.
Kara watches silently as Lena’s face becomes engulfed in a golden aura, making her literally look like the guardian angel she’s always been to Kara. Every time she’s been on death’s door, Lena’s always been there to pull her back from the edge of Rao’s light without fail. Kara would trade Rao’s light for Lena’s every time. She looks so beautiful she can’t help but smile.
Kara is shaken from her trance when she realizes Lena is talking to her.
“- are you sure about this, Kara?” Lena asks again, almost sheepishly, as she glances from the glowing crystal now in her hand back to Kara’s face.
“More than I’ve been about anything. I trust you.” Kara replies earnestly as she lowers her bare hand over the golden glow, grabbing Lena’s hand, kryptonite and all.
The second the crystal makes contact with Kara’s skin, golden lines immediately sprout from her palm. They shimmer like an infinite chain of stars, spreading from her hand to her arm to her neck and face to every inch of her body. Kara feels the relief instantly. Searing pain gradually replaced by soothing warmth. The sensation was almost like that of the sun’s rejuvenation, but this felt a hundred times more intense. And better?
Lena watches in awe as the glittering gold lines that decorate Kara’s body chase and consume every ounce of green until there is no sign of that poison left on her skin.
The entire warehouse is ablaze with the amber incandescence Kara’s body emits.
Lena smiles at how beautifully ethereal she looks, her literal golden ray of sunshine wrapped in her arms. Lena’s comforted to see the agony and pain erased by relief and peace on Kara’s face. And yet she can’t help but feel the tug of guilt in her stomach.
As the golden glow fades and collapses within Kara, the two are left holding nothing but a dull yellow crystal and each other.
“Are you okay? How do you feel?” Lena probes eagerly.
“Good. Strong?” Kara replies. “I mean not lift a tank strong, but strong. I feel – I feel like I did on Krypton. Normal. I thought I had forgotten what that even felt like. It’s nice.”
Lena's eyes light up at the subdued happiness in Kara’s voice. She feels what she often feels in Kara’s presence: hope.
Maybe she’ll be okay. Maybe they both will.
…
Lena is roaming cautiously in the background of the tower, monitoring Kara’s stats from afar on her tablet while the rest of the team hovers around Kara to console and debrief about the night’s events. Mostly, she wants to give them space to process, but secretly she’s afraid of the accusations and blame she can’t help but expect will come her way. She is consumed by her thoughts when Alex approaches.
“Hey.” Alex says softly.
“How is she?” Lena asks bluntly.
“Looks like you’d know better than me.” Alex nods to the tablet Lena was just hunched over.
“Physically she’s fine, but…” Lena trails off staring past Alex toward Kara.
“But emotionally, how is she coping with the loss of her powers and her identity as Supergirl?” Alex correctly extrapolates.
“Yeah...” Lena sighs.
Alex smiles solemnly but empathetically at Lena.
“Tough to say. She seems fine but one thing I know about Kara is that she’s pretty good at hiding how she’s feeling to avoid ‘burdening’ others, kind of like someone else I know…”
Lena glances up at Alex guiltily before turning her attention back to the woman across the room.
“She’s got a tough adjustment ahead of her, but our girl is strong, and she’s got us for when she’s not. She’s got you.”
“What if I’m not enough?” Lena whispers.
“You are.” Alex assures without hesitating.
“I wasn’t today.” Lena confesses, trying and failing to swallow her tears. She instinctively turns away to shield herself from potentially wandering eyes.
“Lena – “
“Alex, it’s my – I came to this city for her. For Supergirl. I never wanted to be the Luthor who took her powers away.” Lena sobs.
“You didn’t, Lena. Hell, neither did Lex, not really. Kara chose this. She knew this day might come. She knew the risks and what they entailed, but she approved this protocol, and she grabbed that kryptonite on her own. She chose to live because her life is worth more than her powers. Supergirl may be gone, but Kara is still very much alive because of you. You saved Kara! You saved my baby sister, Lena. Nothing else matters.”
Lena turns gradually back to face Alex and is immediately enveloped in a hug.
“Thank you.” Lena breathes out as she clings to Alex.
“No. Thank you.” Alex implores with the smallest quiver lacing her voice.
A gentle cough breaks them apart as Lena wipes her eyes.
“Can I steal Lena for a minute?” Kara asks softly.
“Course.” Alex responds as she gives Lena’s arm a comforting squeeze before she rejoins the superfriends across the room.
“Hi.” Kara smiles.
“Hey.” Lena can’t help but return her infectious smile.
“Can we talk?” Kara asks.
“Always.” Lena says earnestly.
“Somewhere a little more private?” Kara probes glancing back at their friends who all conspicuously look away as if they weren’t just staring at the pair.
Lena lets out a light chuckle at their nosy, concerned friends. “Might be wise.”
“Follow me?” Kara phrases it as a question but she already has Lena’s hand in hers as she leads her toward the elevator before Lena can even answer.
“Going down?” Lena asks once they’re in the elevator.
“Not yet.” Kara smirks at her momentarily as she presses the button for the roof.
Kara leads her to the edge of the building and invites Lena to sit next to her on the roof’s ledge.
They sit in silence for a beat watching the sun near the horizon. The orange and yellow rays fading blue skies to purple, pink. Lena can’t remember the last time she really watched the sun set. It was beautiful, almost as beautiful as the woman basking in it beside her.
Kara peels her gaze from the dancing skyline of the city and glances sideways to find Lena watching her.
“So…” Lena starts.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Kara asserts.
“What?”
“I don’t need superhearing to know what you and Alex were talking about. I know you, Lena. I know you’re blaming yourself for what happened, but you shouldn’t. It’s not your fault.”
“I know.” Lena concedes with a sigh to Kara’s surprise. “But I’m still sorry it happened.”
“…I’m not.” Kara confesses.
Lena’s not sure if she heard her correctly. “You’re not?” She stares at Kara incredulously.
“I’ve told you before what green kryptonite felt like, how painful it was.” Kara starts to explain as Lena recoils at the thought of all the times Kara had to experience that searing pain, including once by her own doing.
“But I want to tell you what that gold kryptonite felt like today.” Kara continues.
Lena nods giving her silent approval and support to keep going.
“It was similar to how the sun used to make me feel in a way. The sun's rays made me feel recharged and powerful.” Kara pauses on the last word for a moment. “But the gold kryptonite made me feel…lighter? Like a whole new person. One who is unabridged by the burden of immense power. I may be more grounded now, literally, but I’ve never felt more free.” Kara admits in a low voice.
To Lena’s surprise, she understands exactly what Kara is saying. When she first gave up her position at L-Corp, amidst the loss and uncertainty, she too felt free and unencumbered in a way she never expected, a way she forgot was possible. Sometimes you can’t feel the full strain of responsibility until you relinquish it.
“For the first time in my life, I can be or do anything I want. I’ve always felt this obligation to protect this world because of my powers. And now without my powers, I’m not indebted to duty anymore. Of course, I still want to help people in every way I can, but I no longer have to hide who I am to do it. In fact, the biggest way I can help people now, is with putting my name on bylines. I can just be Kara Danvers.”
Lena smiles as she softly adds, “Kara Danvers has always been my favorite.”
Kara lightly bumps Lena’s shoulder in response and laughs.
“You know, even when I blew out my powers, I never felt like this. I was physically ‘normal’ sure, but I still always felt empty, waiting for my powers to return. But now, without them, knowing I’ll never get them back, I feel…full somehow. Full of possibility.” Blue eyes lock with green as she lingers on the last word.
Lena’s breath catches and her heart skips a beat, which she realizes Kara can’t hear anymore.
“Possibility.” Kara repeats more to herself. “No more putting everything and everyone on hold to go save the world. I can finally put what I want first.”
Lena gazes at Kara, waiting on the edge of the roof and on the edge of her seat. There’s so much she wants to say, and yet, she says nothing because she can’t afford to assume anything. So, she waits. She waits for Kara like she’s been doing since the day they met.
“I can finally put you first. Us first.”
“Us?” Lena asks hopefully.
“You know, when you first came to me with the idea for the sunset failsafe, it wasn’t the first time I thought about what my life would be like without powers. But it was the first time that life felt tangible. I really had to consider if that was something I wanted. If it would be enough. And I knew it would, because every time I thought about it, you were there. You were enough. More than enough. You were what I wanted. What I want.” Kara says, gravity clinging to every syllable.
Overwhelmed, Lena turns toward the sunset in front of them.
Kara closes her eyes as she lets uncertainty carry her last words, “I may not be a hero anymore, but I just hope I can be enough. For you.”
She opens her eyes to a teary-eyed Lena staring at her in disbelief.
“Kara, you’ve always been a hero to me, long before I knew you had powers. And you still are, even without them, because your powers aren’t what made you a hero. Your heart is.” Lena says as she places her hand on Kara’s chest over her heart.
She shakes her head with a light laugh as if what she’s saying is the most obvious thing in the world, and she’s dumbfounded Kara can’t see it.
“Your heart will always be enough for me. Because I love you, Kara.”
“You do?”
“Yes, you oblivious fool.”
Kara laughs unabashedly. Grinning wider than she ever has, she takes Lena’s hand in hers.
“Well, Supergirl may have been the city’s hero, but Lena Luthor, you are my hero. And I love you too.” Kara says as she presses a gentle, soft kiss to Lena’s hand that she’s holding.
“You stole my line.” Lena smirks flirtatiously.
“You stole my heart. Call it even?”
Lena leans in and kisses Kara like she’s always wanted. Kara’s hands land on her hips as her lips part for Lena’s tongue. Kara pulls her closer and Lena settles her hands in Kara’s hair.
They savor their first kiss as long as they can before they part smiling in the twilight.
“Even.” Lena whispers against Kara’s lips as she goes in for more.
…
“Are you sure about this?” Kara asks lightly, her hand resting on the middle of Lena’s back.
“I’m sure.” Lena reassures with a small smile.
“Okay, I’ll be right out here for you.” Kara gives her girlfriend a quick kiss. “Stay strong.”
Lena takes a breath, opens the door, and walks in.
“Well, well, well. Look who couldn’t stay away. How…unsurprising.” Lex condescends. “Come to finish me off in my cell?”
“You don’t deserve that mercy.” Lena replies coolly.
“Then you just wanted to lose at a game of chess, baby sis?” Lex tries to taunt her.
“I haven’t lost a game of chess to you since I was four and you know it.” Lena retorts.
Lex clenches his jaw in subdued anger.
“A trivial game. I won when it mattered.” Lex spits out bitterly.
“No, you didn’t.” Lena replies matter-of-factly.
“I took away the one thing that mattered most to you.” Lex countered.
“Kara’s alive, Lex.” Lena smirks with a raise of her eyebrow.
“WHAT?! H - how?” Lex demands.
“You’re predictable, big brother. Your exploding kryptonite bullet, while inventive for you, was ultimately a nonfactor. We were prepared for any instance of fatal kryptonite poisoning.”
“But – “ Lex stammers trying to understand how he possibly could have been outsmarted. His demeanor shifts to bitter frustration when the realization hits. “Gold kryptonite.”
“Like I said, predictable.” It’s Lena’s turn to taunt.
“Where did you even get gold kryptonite on this Earth?” Lex bites out.
“I made it.”
“Of course you did.” Lex huffs.
Lena smiles at his visible jealousy.
“Fine. Kara may be alive, but I still killed Supergirl!” Lex yells satisfied with a partial win.
“Wrong again. Supergirl isn’t dead. She lives on in every corner of this world in all of us, as a symbol bigger than she’s ever been thanks to you. Statues have been erected, vigils held, holidays declared all in her name tenfold since people found out. Her emblem gives new life to hope, truth, and compassion every single day. Her legacy will continue to birth new heroes who rise to the challenge for years to come. So no, Lex, you didn’t kill Supergirl because you can’t kill an idea. You can’t kill what she fought for, what she still stands for, and what she inspires.” Lena beams just thinking about it.
She can see the anger in his eyes rise with every word she utters.
“Supergirl without her powers, and even in her absence, will always be more powerful than you ever were. So even when you win, you lose, Lex.”
“No! I beat her! I killed her! The world knows what I did!.” Lex erupts.
Lena laughs lightly.
“Except they don’t.”
Her words throw him ever so slightly off kilter as confusion sets in his face. She basks in his ignorance.
“No one knows what you did, and no one will ever know. Because that’s the thing, Lex, that’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it? You never really cared about killing the Supers or ridding this planet of ‘alien supremacy’. No, you just wanted the attention and the notoriety that came with it. You didn’t care if it was respect or fear, adoration or disdain, fame or infamy; you just wanted to be remembered. But you won’t. You just wanted to be important. But you aren’t.”
Before he can interject, Lena continues.
“You will live and die in obscurity, Lex. I will ensure history does not remember your name. And you have to spend the rest of your days alone in this cell knowing the legacy you crave so much will never exist. It will die with you. And when you take your last breath, I hope you remember it’s because of me. I told you, you would die for what you did to Kara. And you will, but not just in this life. You’ll die in memory too, which is what you really fear. So have a nice life in isolation, Lex, and enjoy the days where anyone utters your name, because they will be the last once you’re gone.”
Lex fumes, shaking his head defiantly, and steps toward Lena vengefully.
“I still took her powers! She’ll blame you! She’ll never look at you the same. In the end I still took your precious Kara Danvers away from you!” Lex yells rabidly.
“No, you didn’t.” Kara makes her presence known from the doorway. “But you’re half right. I’ll never look at Lena the same.”
Kara smiles at Lena with nothing but pure affection and love in her eyes.
“Ready?” Kara asks, offering her hand to Lena.
“Yes, darling. Let’s go home.” Lena answers, taking her hand with a gleeful smile.
She steps towards the door to join Kara, but before she leaves him in the past, Lena turns her head over her shoulders to look at Lex one last time.
“Checkmate.” Lena declares triumphantly.
And with Kara’s hand in hers, Lena walks out vaguely hearing unintelligible sounds of her screaming brother as she tunes him out, already erasing him from her own life. For good.